Basketball Training Method and System

ABSTRACT

A basketball training method and system is provided. In some embodiments the present invention comprises a basketball with an embedded passive RFID emitter that may be actuated by a wearable RFID reader that may be worn on a players waist, chest, or head for purposes of assessing, correcting, and enhancing a player&#39;s dribbling skills, passing performance, and rebounding skills.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Not applicable.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to basketball training methods. More particularly, the present invention relates to an athletic training method and technique that automatically tracks the movement of an athletic sports ball, allowing one to determine and improve a player's athletic ability.

BACKGROUND

Basketball is an extremely dynamic and physically demanding sport that requires a player to make rapid transitions in movement while simultaneously being able to dribble, catch, and pass a basketball. Basketball players must also make rapid transitions in movement in a manner that avoids injuries. Proper basketball training techniques are critical to due the physical and athletic demands of the game.

Dribbling, passing performance, and rebounding are vital skills that each basketball player needs to hone and perfect in order to successfully play the game. Research has shown that dribbling skills varies based on the basketball player's age, height, and agility. Passing performance also varies based on a basketball player's fatigue and upper body strength. Research has also shown that rebound skills vary based on a basketball player's eye discipline and coordination. Accordingly, traditional basketball training methods and programs focus on dribbling, passing performance, and rebounding. Traditional basketball training methods, however, have challenges with adequately, consistently, and accurately identifying specific problem areas for each individual athlete. Rather, traditional basketball training methods and programs apply a universal corrective approach.

Attempts have been made, although unsuccessfully, to solve this problem. One illustrative attempt can be seen with respect to U.S. Pat. No. 9,298,418 B2, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, which generally discloses an electronic analysis of athletic performance which generally discloses a performance analysis method that tracks the motion of an athlete to determine the relative skill level of the athlete. While this disclosure does provide basketball training methods, it fails to provide for an alert system that lets users and/or trainers know when the ball is not dribbled, passed, or rebounded properly.

Another attempt can be seen with respect to U.S. Pat. No. 8,540,560 B2, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, which generally discloses a basketball training monitoring system and method that collects and analyzes motion data through a ball that has motion sensors. However, this disclosure also fails to provide for an alert system that lets users and/or trainers know when the ball is not dribbled, passed, or rebounded properly.

Yet another attempt can be seen with respect to U.S. Pat. No. 9,623,311 B2, incorporated by reference in its entirety herein, which generally discloses a basketball sensing apparatus that discloses a data acquisition device that assesses whether a shot was made or missed by the player. While this disclosure does provide for a basketball training method that assesses a player's shooting skills, it also fails to provide for a basketball training method that assesses a player's dribbling skills, passing performance, and rebounding skills.

Various attempts have been made to solve the problems which may be found in the related art but have been unsuccessful. Therefore, a need exists for a new basketball training method that provides a novel means for assessing and correcting a player's dribbling skills, passing performance, and rebounding skills.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is to be understood that in the present disclosure, all embodiments are provided as illustrative and non-limiting representatives of many possible embodiments. In addition, the terms “is,” “can,” “will,” and the like are herein used as synonyms for and interchangeable with terms such as “may,” “may provide for,” and “it is contemplated that the present invention may” and so forth.

While the invention will be described in connection with basketball training methods and systems, it is understood that the invention is not limited in scope to use with basketball training methods and systems, but may be used with other types of sports, and in settings other than a basketball training setting. Such other types of sports and settings may include, by way of illustration and not limitation, soccer, volleyball, cricket, and football.

For purposes of summarizing, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention are provided herein. It is to be understood that not all such aspects, advantages, or novel features may be provided in any one particular embodiment. Thus, the disclosed subject matter may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one aspect, advantage, or novel feature or group of features without achieving all aspects, advantages, or novel features as may be taught or suggested.

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known art, the present invention provides a novel solution for assessing and correcting player's dribbling, passing performance, and rebounding skills. The general purpose of the present invention, which shall be described subsequently in greater detail, is to allow a user to utilize and alert system when the ball is not dribbled, passed, or rebounded properly.

The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. By way of non-limiting example, the present invention provides a novel solution for a basketball training method and system. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.

Embodiments of the present invention address the disadvantages inherent in the known art by providing a training system and method for assessing and correcting a basketball player's dribbling skills, passing performance, and rebounding skills. As a player is honing his or her dribbling skills, passing performance, and/or rebounding skills, embodiments of the present invention may be configured and used to alert the player and/or trainer when a ball is dribbled, passed, or rebounded correctly.

In some embodiments, the present invention may provide for a practice basketball having a passive radio-frequency identification (“RFID”) sensors embedded within the inner lining of the basketball. In addition, the present invention may provide for an RFID reader configured to emit electromagnetic energy waives that power and activate the passive RFID to be worn by the player on the waist, chest, or head. When the player dribbles the ball within range of the waist worn RFID reader, the RFID reader will sound an alert. Likewise, when the player catches a passed ball within range of the chest worn RFID reader, the RFID reader will sound an alert. Similarly, when the player catches a rebound within range of the head worn RFID reader, the RFID reader will sound an alert. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the “range” may be set by the player or trainer, allowing for the player to dribble, pass, or rebound the ball within a pre-determined distance or range of the worn RFID reader.

In another embodiment of the present invention, each RFID reader is configured to transmit data to a mobile device, such as a smart phone or tablet. This data includes, but is not limited to, the number of successful dribbles, passes, or rebounds occurring within the pre-determined range of the worn RFID reader. Ideally, the cumulative data transmitted to the mobile device can be statistically analyzed to display the player's improvement or regression with dribbling, passing performance, or rebounding.

The unique features of this product will provide the following benefits for consumers everywhere: hone dribbling skills and passing accuracy, develop concentration and self-discipline, physical endurance, and improvement of eye discipline and coordination.

The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, while the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in terms of the components and configurations, it is understood to that the invention is not intended to be limited to those specific dimensions or configurations but is to be accorded the full breadth and scope of the spirit of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying figures where:

FIG. 1 shows a high-level schematic block diagram illustrating a basketball training method and system in accordance with at least one preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art by providing a new and more effective self-cooling garment system and method of using the same.

All dimensions specified in this disclosure are by way of example only and are not intended to be limiting. Further, the proportions shown in the FIGURE is not necessarily to scale. As will be understood by those with skill in the art with reference to this disclosure, the actual dimensions and proportions of any embodiment or element of an embodiment disclosed in this disclosure will be determined by its intended use.

It is to be understood that the drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate potential embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention. Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” is intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Throughout the drawings, reference numbers are re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements. In addition, the first digit of each reference number indicates the FIGURE where the element first appears.

As used in this disclosure, except where the context requires otherwise, the term “comprise” and variations of the term, such as “comprising”, “comprises” and “comprised” are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

In the following description, specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. Well-known features, elements or techniques may not be shown in detail in order not to obscure the embodiments.

Turning attention to FIG. 1, a high-level schematic block diagram illustrating a basketball training method and system 100 in accordance with at least one preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown in FIG. 1, the basketball training method and system comprises of a basketball 101 with an embedded passive RFID emitter 102, a RFID reader 103 having a data processing unit 104 and a radio frequency transceiver 105. As may be disclosed elsewhere herein, the RFID reader 103 is a wearable device 110 that may be worn on the waist, chest, or head of the user.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the RFID reader 103 is configured to emit an alert through the speaker 109 when the basketball's 101 passive RFID emitter 102 comes within range of the RFID reader 103.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sensing range of the RFID reader 103 may be manually adjusted to widen or narrow the alerting range depending on the user's desired setting or training methods. It will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art that the worn devices 110 with RFID readers 103 may have varying sensing ranges without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The system 100 may, in some embodiments, also include a paired mobile device 106 having a radio frequency transceiver 107 with the means to store and analyze data 108. The mobile device 106 may comprise of a hand-held portable computer system such as a smart phone or tablet.

The mobile device 106 is capable of storing and analyzing data 108 within the mobile device's internal memory (not shown). The mobile device 106 may also contain statistical analysis programming and instructions to analyze the received data 108 from the RFID reader 103.

CONCLUSIONS, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE

Although the present invention has been described with a degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made by way of example and that other versions are possible. As various changes could be made in the above description without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be illustrative and not used in a limiting sense. The spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained in this disclosure.

All features disclosed in the specification, including the claims, abstracts, and drawings, and all the steps in any method or process disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. Each feature disclosed in the specification, including the claims, abstract, and drawings, can be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means” for performing a specified function or “step” for performing a specified function should not be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. § 112.

While the present invention generally described herein has been disclosed in connection with a number of embodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications should be readily apparent to those of skill in the art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A basketball training method and system comprising: at least one basketball having at least one passive RFID emitter; at least one device having at least one RFID reader, wherein the at least one RFID reader has a data processing unit and a radio frequency transceiver; at least one paired mobile device, wherein the at least one mobile device is configured to receive data transmissions from the RFID reader and store the same within internal memory.
 2. The basketball training method and system of claim 1, wherein the at least one passive RFID emitter is embedded within the inner lining of the basketball and extends around the circumference of the basketball.
 3. The basketball training method and system of claim 1, wherein the at least one at device may be attached to an article of clothing.
 4. The basketball training method and system of claim 3, wherein the device may be configured to be worn on a user's waistband.
 5. The basketball training method and system of claim 3, wherein the device may be configured to be worn on a user's shirt.
 6. The basketball training method and system of claim 3, wherein the device may be configured to be worn on a user's headband.
 7. The basketball training method and system of claim 1, wherein the passive RFID emitter is configured to transmit a radio frequency signal in response to be actuated by the RFID reader in the wearable device.
 8. The basketball training method and system of claim 1, wherein the paired mobile device has an internal memory and processing unit that stores statistical data. 